Facts

The mother of plaintiff was eight months pregnant when her truck was T-boned by a fast moving vehicle on Oct. 24, 2001. She was thrown from the truck, and had hip dislocation. She was taken by helicopter to a local hospital, where she was evaluated orthopedically and obstetrically. Her hip was repaired surgically and then she was turned over to the obstetricians.

Although the fetal heart tracing showed some signs of possible non-reassurance, by the following morning, her obstetricians felt the tracing looked stable and the fetus was doing well. By the afternoon, however, the strip began to deteriorate. The nurses called the obstetrician, who said she would be in later. The strip continued to deteriorate, and that evening, the obstetrician came to see the patient. A cesarean section was not. The obstetrician called her partner who came to the hospital. A cesarean section was then done for fetal distress.

The baby was born severely depressed with signs of asphyxia, which ultimately led to cerebral palsy, spastic quadriplegia and developmental palsy.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiff contended that the obstetricians initially misinterpreted the fetal heart tracing and wrongfully concluded that the baby was doing well. The hospital nurses should have been more prompt and informative in their conversations with the obstetrician when the fetal heart tracing began to deteriorate further, later in the day. When the obstetricians finally did return to the hospital, there was further undue delay in performing a cesarean section. As a result, there was a delay in delivery, which led to irreversible brain damage.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
The defendants contended that the injury at the time of the motor vehicle accident, and the brain damage was already present when the mother got in the hospital. The management thereafter was reasonable under the circumstances, and did not cause or contribute to any further injury.

Injuries

The plaintiff suffered severe cerebral palsy, spastic quadriparesis and developmental delay due to brain damage from lack of oxygen at birth.

Result

The case settled for $2 million cash ($1,250,000 cash from the hospital; $750,000 cash from the obstetricians).

Other Information

FILING DATE: Dec. 31, 2002.